a little bit about THE NEVER NEVER KOMBU FARM....

In October 2010 Rob Walsh and Rebecca Kinsey took over an organic avocado and custard apple farm at Tuckombil on the NSW North Coast.

Initially Rob's parents moved to the property to help us manage the farm but now we live and work here full time with our two children - Sacha and Juniper, our cat Milo (who Sacha found as a tiny feral kitten here in a tree stump and we have since domesticated... well sort of), five free ranging chickens (Little Red, Dorothy, Ginger, Peanut and Scarlett) and a flock of crazy guinea fowl. We also have our great farmhand Matt, who works here most days.

The farm has NASAA certified organic status. There are 12 varieties of avocado grown here, the largest being the Reed, which is as big as a grapefruit. The farm also has quite a number of custard apple trees, and since our arrival we have planted numerous pumpkin patches and many other fruit trees, vines and bushes including mangos, papaya, oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes, fingerlime, tropical apples, peaches and nectarines, jaboticaba, pomegranate, passionfruit and blueberries. We also grow our own organic herbs, spices and vegetables in a large terrced garden.

A number of magpie families also live on the farm along with butcher birds, pheasant coucals and tawny frogmouths. Wallabies can sometimes be seen eating the grass between the trees and there are possums in the shed. We also have a few resident echidnas which we see from time to time.

We are planning on getting some alpacas, sheep and goats as there is a lot of grass. We are currently preparing an area for them.

We have experimented with ground covers to improve both the soil’s structure and available nutrients. The pinto peanut is starting to spread throughout the orchard.

There are lots of camphor laurel trees on the farm, which are classed as a noxious weed in this area. We have felled a number of them to use for building projects. So far we have made some beautiful rustic benches, stools, tables and chopping boards.

We refurbished an old dairy bails and made a nice grassy area in the centre of the farm where family and friends can spend peaceful days picnicking and camping.

We all love eating avocados.